Twist of Fate: The Second Turn
by Woodsballer
Summary: She wished they could spend more time together. But this time, she has something more intimate in mind. Rated T for mild adult themes. Twist of Fate 2 Ashachu Pikashipping ONESHOT.


**Twist of Fate:**

**The Second Turn**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon or related characters and themes. This story is not used for profit in any way, but it is mine. You may not use it without my permission.

**Author's Note: **Before any of you even start, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I know that I have several issues between this story and the anime regarding gender. However, I am trying to get this story to work. So if you could, please forgive me and enjoy the story. Any other complaints you have are fair game.

Also, if you are not familiar with the first Twist of Fate, Pikachu's actual name is Teia.

Special thanks to Beta Readers: Felix the Eeveetrainer and Blazin' Saddles.

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"Ladies and gentlemen, my special guest tonight is the single-most world renowned man when it comes to Pokemon. The writer of nearly every reference text over twenty years and the inventor of the Pokedex, it's the one and only Professor Samuel Oak. Thanks for being here, Professor."

"It's a pleasure to be here."

"I'd like to open up with a question regarding your latest book, entitled _Human/Pokemon Relations_, available in stores worldwide. You recently came under fire from several world groups regarding this book."

"That's correct."

"Could you share with us some of the details?"

"The Active Pokemon Rights Group first brought up the point several months ago, and it's spiraled ever since. They made the claim that my book actually encourages active sexual relations between humans and Pokemon, which is fully illegal in all world regions."

"And that was not the intent, correct?"

"Absolutely not."

"Well, then Professor, what was the intent? What meaning should be taken from all of this?"

----------

The door slid open with a hiss and a blast of cool air brushed over the group. The three had been traveling for the past few days. This was the first Pokemon Center they'd passed since they'd left the city. Upon seeing it, they decided unanimously to stop for the night.

Nurse Joy turned to them with a big smile. "Hello. Welcome to the Forest Center. Is there something I can help you with?"

Brock jumped ahead of the two. "Ah, my sweet princess." He fell to one knee in front of the counter, spreading his arms towards her. "I require immediate medical assistance, for you have stolen my heart!" He leaned over towards her, taking her hands in his. "Come. Help me…"

Three purple-glowing fingers jabbed into his side. His voice froze in his throat. With a creak, he fell back to the floor and Croagunk drug him back to the door.

Joy gave a weak laugh. "You have a very peculiar friend."

Ash just gave a laugh back. "He's always like that." Teia gave a nod from atop his head.

Dawn stepped up to the counter. "Nurse Joy, would you happen to have any rooms available?"

"Of course," she answered with a smile. "You three look like you've been traveling for a while."

"The past three days have been out in the woods. We're trying to get to the next city."

"Oh my." Nurse Joy pulled three keys from behind the counter and handed them over. "You know, if you three need some rest, there's a resort about a days walk east of here."

"A resort?" Dawn asked. "I've never heard of a resort way out here."

"It's actually not very well known." The nurse pulled out several brochures. "But it's very nice. Both people and Pokemon are welcome."

"Wow." The three gathered over the folded pieces of paper. Bright pictures showed several pools with Pokemon and people swimming and playing. Other pictures showed a restaurant, a casino, and a playground with nothing but Pokemon.

Brock, always being the moderate one, pointed out, "It looks a bit expensive."

"Actually, you're in luck. It's in the middle of their off-season. You three could stay a few nights for next to nothing."

"Really?" Dawn looked at the others. "I don't know about you, but a few days of relaxation sounds good to me."

"Me too," Ash said with a smile. He looked up to the mouse. "What do you think, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" she answered,

"So I guess it's settled then."

----------

The group retired a bit later after everyone had managed to get showers. By then, the sun had set and the moon shown brilliantly in the sky.

Teia lay on the covers by Ash's feet, her eyes open and scanning the scanning the stars through the window. Her powerful ears listened to the sound of Ash's breathing, though the room was nearly silent. It was quite peaceful.

A sudden streak through the sky caught her attention. "A shooting star?" It glowed brilliantly for several seconds before vanishing.

The Pikachu couldn't believe her luck. A shooting star meant that she could make a wish to the Spirits that might be answered.

She remembered the last time she saw a shooting star. That wish had actually been granted. Warm memories filled her mind. She had enjoyed that night. They had slept in each other's arms, fur mingling with fur… She would love to live that again.

Her eyes drifted close. "Spirits above," she whispered, "hear my wish. Let us spend more time together. _Truly_ together."

She couldn't explain it, but as soon as the words were spoken, she became dreary and slipped into slumber.

----------

Teia woke to a gentle push. Ash stood over her, fully dressed. "Wake up, Pikachu. It's time to go."

She lazily yawned and pushed herself up. As her mind slowly picked up, her thoughts turned to last night. It seems her wish wasn't granted this time. But she just shrugged it off.

The three trainers met in the lobby and headed off, eating a small meal of fruit and oat bars as they walked east towards the resort.

The moment their destination came into view over the hill, they all stopped in awestruck wonder. The building was massive, challenging even the scope of some Safron City buildings. It glistened a brilliant white in the setting sun at the edge of a cluster of trees like a gem set in dark stone. As they continued to walk closer, details began to stand out. The close edge of the building was ringed with an enormous pool and several battlefields. Countless windows lined the walls, each one reflecting the sunlight. And engulfing it all was a single, tall wall of grey and blue tile shaped like a wave that traveled around the complex.

They couldn't keep from gazing around as they passed through the open gate. A single lane cut to the building, a wrought iron fence separating them from the pool and arenas. Several clusters of trainers and Pokemon lounged by the pool, but it seemed a little empty. Despite that, it was still breathtaking.

The building's interior was just as brilliant. The floor was covered in a red and gold carpet. Wooden trim wound around the lobby, leading to a sitting room at the far end. Large double-doors opened to what looked like a restaurant.

A receptionist behind a large mahogany counter smiled as they came in. "Welcome to the Crystal Gem Resort," she said with a broad smile. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Brock started to run over to her, but Dawn quickly grabbed his collar. "Don't even think about it."

Ash came around them. "We'd like to get a couple of rooms, please."

"Maybe you should let me handle this, Ash," Brock said behind him. "I've got our money, so I can figure out how much we can spend."

"Oh, ok." He looked around for a moment. "We'll wait for you over there," he said, pointing at the chairs.

"Ok."

Teia stepped away from the others, gazing at the décor. The carpet was soft under her paws. Her nose picked up a dozen scents, a few of them pieces of food that made her mouth water.

Ash suddenly stepped by her, reaching his arm down. "Let's go, Pikachu."

"Pika." She nimbly jumped up his arm to his shoulder.

Brock came over several minutes later holding three card keys. "I've got us a two room suite for two nights." He handed each one a card. "It was a bit more than smaller rooms, but we should still have enough until the next contest."

"What about our Pokemon?" Dawn asked.

"There's a special ranch out back for them."

"Cool." They all pulled out their pokeballs and released their teams in a single brilliant flash. "Go on and have fun, guys." They all ran off through the doors. Teia watched them go, but stayed on Ash's shoulder. "Don't you want to go with them?" Ash asked her. She simply shook her head.

They walked over to the elevator and started to climb up. Brock continued telling them details as they went. "The meals are included, but room service is going to cost extra, so try not to get carried away."

The hallways weren't nearly as lavish as the lobby. The walls were simply painted off-white with similarly colored doors. Each door was labeled with black numbers. "Ours is 753," Brock said. There were only a few doors, and they quickly found the right door. It opened with a single swipe of the card.

The first room had several couches ringed around the far wall with a mounted plasma television. A hallway right next to the door led to a bathroom. The space between had a table. "What a nice room," Dawn said as she stepped inside. Two other doors led to separate bedrooms.

They explored it a bit, but it was a fairly simple room, so quickly decided to just go to bed, as everyone wanted to get an early start.

Teia curled next to Ash's leg as he drifted to sleep as she did every night. But this would not be an average night.

----------

She woke before any of the others. A crack in the window curtains let a small beam of light lay across her eye. Her body instinctively twisted, moving her out of the light and closer to her trainer's legs. But when she moved, she couldn't feel anything under the covers. She gave a twitch of her tail, searching for him. But she couldn't find him.

A bit confused now, she pulled her still sleepy body up, wincing as she once again settled into the beam of light. Her head twisted around. The blankets settled flat behind her, though they were wrinkled. "Where could he be?" she thought to herself.

She looked up towards the head of the bed and stopped when she saw a lump underneath of the blankets. "That's strange." One paw reached up to rub her eye as she stood and gently walked over. "Why would Ash leave something under his blanket?"

She leaned over and curled her little fingers under the blanket, lifting it upwards. Underneath, a small yellow body was curled and breathing.

Her hand froze with a gasp. This wasn't something that was left. This was a Pikachu! Then her nose caught the scent. She would recognize that scent anywhere. This Pikachu was Ash!

She gently lay the blanket back down over him and stepped back. With only a small amount of control, a giggle managed to escape her lips. Her wish _had_ come true. She mentally sent a thank you to the Spirits above.

With a quick pulled, she hurled the covers off of Ash. "Ash, wake up."

Ash twisted, clutching for the covers. "Why…" Poor guy was still asleep.

"Because I want you to get up." She put her paws against his shoulder and shook.

With a grumble, he managed to open his eyes and look up at her. "Pikachu?"

She couldn't help but smile. "Surprise!"

His eyes suddenly bulged wide and he twisted back. "WO! Pikachu? How are you talking?"

"I've always talked, silly Chu." She stepped closer, taking one of his ears between her fingers. "You just don't listen."

Ash felt his ear twitch. That was weird. He shifted his arm to push himself up, but felt his arm move through something like fur. Then he looked down and saw his body.

One would normally think that someone seeing themselves in another body would have a very paranoid reaction. But Ash just paused for a moment before giggling and looking at her. "You did it again, didn't you?"

She simply smiled. "I saw a shooting star and wanted some fun. Sue me."

"Some fun, huh?" He lunged forward, tackling her into the bed sheets. She squealed and rolled over on top of him. The two wrestled for several seconds before Ash gave up because he wasn't able to push her off.

That's when Brock decided to wake up. "What's all that noise?" He looked over and saw the two Pikachus, recognizing the one. "Is that you, Ash?"

He just smiled from underneath Teia. "Hey, Brock."

"You're a Pikachu again? That seems to happen to you a lot."

Ash shrugged as best he could. "I've gotten used to it by now, I guess."

Brock shook his head. He couldn't understand it, so he just didn't try. "Well, OK. I'm going to get a shower before breakfast."

"Hm. Breakfast sounds good right now," Teia said. "How about we go get some."

"As soon as you get off me."

She rolled off of him and they jumped to the floor, going through the suite and quickly out the door.

Dawn stepped out into the main room just as Brock did. "Did Pikachu just go out?" she asked.

"Yeah. Ash and her went down to breakfast."

"Oh. Ok." She sat down and turned on the television, waiting for Brock to finish with the shower.

----------

When they came into the dining room, which was decorated in the same fashion as the lobby, the strong scent of cinnamon rolls filled their lungs. About half of the tables were filled with people or Pokemon. The right wall had a long bar of food.

As they worked their way towards the table, Ash's ears picked up a surprising number of conversations, even those of the Pokemon. He didn't listen to them; he found it more surprising that he even understood them.

Teia jumped onto a small raised platform that ran the length of the table, searching it. "Oh, they don't have any apples."

Ash came up next to her. "I'm going for some of this cinnamon roll." He picked a plate and began pulling food. Besides the roll, he took several berries. Teia began taking some berries as well.

They managed to find a small table in one of the corners and silently ate their food. As Ash downed the last piece of his roll, he asked, "So, what do you want to do today?"

She thought for only a moment before answering, "I think a swim first. Maybe a battle later."

"Really?" His face twisted into a grin. "Now there's an idea."

She gave him a funny face. "Please tell you aren't thinking it."

He shrugged. "I am a Pokemon. Why not give it a shot?"

"Because you have no idea how to do anything," she answered with a humorous laugh, but then just shook her head. "Why not? It will certainly be fun to watch." The very thought of him trying to participate in a battle made her laugh.

They left their plates where they were and went out towards the pool. At one of the tables they passed, Dawn and Brock were sharing their own meal. Dawn kept looking around. "Where's Ash? I don't see him."

Brock just smiled behind a piece of crescent roll. "Oh, he's around."

----------

Outside, the pool was relatively empty. Only one section was inhabited and only by two Mudkip. Teia didn't waste any time and jumped headfirst into the crystalline water. Ash stepped close, but stayed on the concrete. "Isn't there some rule about swimming after eating?" Teia suddenly leapt from the water, grabbing him by the shoulder, and pulled him into the water with a loud splash.

He floated under the water. It was chilly, but not cold. The sensation of his fur floating through the water made his skin tingle as much as the chill did. And then he broke the surface. The water made his fur stick to his skin.

Teia floated next to him. He gave a growl at her. "You'll pay for that!" She slipped under the water as he lunged for her and quickly swam away. He gave chase, but suddenly found his shortened legs awkward, and she easily made it to the other side before he moved very far.

"If this is how well you do, maybe you should skip the battle."

He took that as a challenge. He tucked his legs under him and kicked, moving forward. His legs kicked again, slowly gaining him speed. He quickly found that he could use his tail as a rudder and use his front legs to just swim faster at her. She dipped back under and kicked off of the wall, swimming underneath of him.

The game of cat-and-mouse continued until both of them were out of breath. He never did manage to catch her. She always managed to stay a few feet away, even when she sped past him. So he just gave up, hanging onto the pool's edge with one arm.

Teia swam up next to him. "You done?"

He nodded and pulled himself out. A ring of lounge chairs surrounded the pool, and Ash fell into one of them. Teia followed, sitting next to him on the same chair.

Ash lifted one arm, noting how his fur now stuck to his arm. "Should I dry this?"

"No. It's best to let the air dry it." She held up an arm and flung a few drops at his face with a giggle. He turned away, catching them on his cheek.

For several minutes, they simply relaxed, lounging in the sun. Teia took the chance to lean into him, feeling his fur mingle with hers. This was what she had wanted, to just be near him, next to her friend, her trainer, her lover.

Her mind froze in a moment of shock. Her lover? Where had that come from? As much as they cared for each other, they had never mated. Even when this first occurred nearly a year ago, they had merely slept in each other's arms. And yet the more it tumbled, the more it seemed to become part of her thoughts. He wasn't her lover, but she couldn't deny that a part of her wanted that.

The thoughts started to disturb her, so she tried taking her mind off of it. Her fur was almost completely dry now, so she turned to him. "You want to head over to the battlefields?"

But she found that his eyes were closed, his breath evenly going in and out. She laughed softly. It was a vacation, so she couldn't really blame him for sleeping. And he was too cute to wake up. Instead, she leaned against him, letting the sun warm her and take her into slumber.

She shifted awake about an hour later, her arm gently wrapped around Ash's. The sun overhead was blazing at them, though it wasn't torturous. That's what woke her. It was around noon, she guessed.

With a gentle push, she forced Ash awake. "Come on, let's go over to the battlefields."

"Oh, ok." He sleepily sat up and they strolled through the lobby and out towards the west side. The battlefields were arranged in a semi-circle around the side of the main building. Each one had a different theme, from simple grass to woodland at the edge of the forest. The rock arena was being used by a Steelix and a Skuntank, but the rest were empty.

They went onto the grass battlefield, stopping in the middle of it. "Looks like there's no one else to battle," Ash said.

"That's ok. We can battle each other," she replied.

"Ok. But could you give me a quick tutorial or something?"

Teia shook her head. "These sort of things usually just come naturally. It's kind of hard to teach them to someone else."

"Can you at least try?" he pleaded. "I think it'd be cool to say I at least did it once."

"Ok," she said with a sigh, trying to think of the best way to explain it. After a moment, she ran several yards away from him. "Ok, here's what you do. Focus on me."

"Ok." He kept his eyes on her.

"Now, tighten up your cheeks. You should feel energy start to build."

"Oh. Ok." He did as he was told, or tried to. It took a couple tries before he felt a surge of electrical tingles spread through his spine.

She seemed to recognize that he'd done it. "Keep focusing on me. Now bring that energy up and force it at me."

Again, it took several tries until the energy seemed to concentrate in his chest. Almost reflexively, his muscles tensed and the energy surged outwards. But he didn't see it. At the same moment, his eyes clenched shut. A second later, he looked over at where she was standing. She hadn't moved. About a foot from her feet was a small patch of charred grass.

"Very close," she said with a smile. "A bit slow, but you could do quite well with a little training."

And so he trained. She acted as his target, though he was soon able to focus enough to actually pose a threat to her. After several more attempts, he started to get cocky. "Ok, I think that's enough. Let's do a battle."

"Really? You really want to battle me?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Oh, no reason." But inside, she was laughing. This would probably the fastest fight she'd ever been in.

Ash didn't waste any time and fired off a quick Thunderbolt. She sidestepped, letting it pass her. In response, she let her own Thunderbolt fly. But Ash wasn't quick enough to dodge. The electricity hit and coursed through his system. Throughout their relationship, Teia had shocked Ash quite a lot, so he was sort of used to it. But it still caused his body to lock up and his nerves to fire off in pain.

It ended seconds later. Before he could fully recover, she crashed into him, tackling him to the ground. The two rolled across the grass, with Teia ending up on top when they stopped. She pinned his arms to the ground and grinned. "You done yet? Or do you want another shock?" Tiny sparks jumped from her cheeks.

He laughed. "Ok, ok. So I can't battle. I give."

She rolled off of him, but gave him another tiny zap. He yelped and quickly jumped at her. They rolled through the grass yet again, but this time, they laughed and giggled, any thoughts of a serious battle vanished.

It was with a heavy grunt that they both fell to the ground, side-by-side. Both were panting heavily through their fading giggles as their eyes gazed up at the clouds. Teia's paw fell to her side and gently brushed his. He shifted it, curling his little fingers through hers. She twisted, shuffling over so that their shoulders touched.

A contented sigh fell past her lips. Her mind melted, knowing that it was Ash that lay next to her. For some reason she couldn't fathom, her thought from the pool slipped back into her mind. And with it, the desire to have it so came as well. "Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"C…can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Anything."

The words seemed to lodge in her throat. "You know that I love you."

She heard him giggle. "And I love you too."

A comforting warmth filled her. But she still found it difficult to ask. She turned her head to look at him. "Would you… become my lover?" There it was. There was no turning back now.

He slowly looked at her, his face unreadable. "Y…you mean…?"

She looked deep into his eyes. "I want to be yours."

For a moment, he held her gaze. Then he leaned up, taking his hand from hers and looking forward into the distance. "You know what you're asking me to do." It wasn't a question.

She sat up, putting her paw on his leg. "Yes. That's why I'm asking _you._"

His eyes remained focused in the distance. "Teia… I… don't think I can."

She knew that he might have said it, but her heart crashed all the same. "But why?"

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "I made a promise… I'm saving myself for my wife."

Teia found herself not wanting to accept it. Her heart was open to him now. "Please, Ash. No one would know."

His face finally turned to her. "_I_ would know," he said firmly. "Besides, I'm a human. You're a Pokemon."

It was a thought that hadn't come to her until this very day. And yet, so ingrained it was into her soul, that as she heard him deny her, her spirit broke.

Ash's face suddenly lost its stiffness as she looked away, tears falling from her eyes. Several tears formed and fell from his own face. He wished that he could make her see how hard it was for him to say it. For all of his words, he would have loved to be one with her. But he simply found that he couldn't.

"Hey…" He leaned over, pulling her closer to him and wrapping his arms around her. "This doesn't mean that I don't love you," he whispered softly.

He heard her sniff. "I know."

This must have been important to her, he thought. But he also knew that he couldn't actually… do _that_ with her. He would have to come up with something, though.

He glanced up at the sun. It was starting to travel downwards, but he guessed there was still a few hours of light left. With a rub of her arm, he pulled away slightly. "Listen, I'm going to go do something. Why don't you meet me in the lobby later?"

She turned to him. "What? What is it you're doing?"

"It's a surprise." He touched his nose to hers and wiggled it, then leaned forward to touch their foreheads. "Meet me in the lobby in two hours. I promise you'll love it." He gave her a quick lick on the cheek before he turned and ran back to the hotel.

Teia watched him go, confusion starting to alleviate her sadness.

----------

It took Ash almost thirty minutes to find Brock. The man was in the hotel's casino, playing Blackjack. Ash jumped up onto the chair next to him. "Hey, Brock."

Brock turned. "Oh, hey, Ash. How's it going?"

"Not so good, actually. I need some help." He gave a quick overview of his plan. He also noticed that the dealer kept looking at him. Perhaps he found it strange to see a Pokemon talk.

Brock thought for a moment. "Sounds nice. But you could definitely use some help." He picked up the chips in front of him. "I'm up, anyway. Let's see if we can make this perfect."

----------

Teia waited out at the field for about an hour after he left. Her tears continued, but they were merely a trickle. Her thoughts were now turning over what sort of surprise he had in store for her.

When the grass started to cause her fur to itch, she went back to the pool long enough to dive in for a few seconds. The rest of her wait was spent sitting on a chair watching the other Pokemon and humans swim as her fur dried.

At what she thought would be two hours, she went inside. Ash waited for her in the center of the lobby. It might have been her imagination, but she thought that it looked like he had combed his hair or something.

He walked forward when he saw her and wrapped her in his arms, laying a gentle kiss on her cheek. The contact sent her heart pulsing. She looked into his eyes as he pulled away. "What are you up to, Ash?"

His lips smiled. "You'll see when we get there. Now, follow me." He silently turned and they walked towards the elevator. She continued pestering him, asking question after question, but he remained stubbornly silent through the whole ride up to the top floor. They went down the hall, Ash taking her paw halfway through, and went to the door at the far end.

"But Ash, this isn't our room."

He smiled at her. "It is for tonight." With a push, the door swung open. She looked in and gasped.

Directly across the room from the door was a window making up the entire wall. The sun was setting just to the left and cast blood red light across the landscape and into the room. Teia walked into the room, captivated by the scene. The light bounced off the trees, creating blacks, browns, and greens that blended and flowed together in infinitely intricate displays. "Oh, Ash. It's beautiful."

Ash came up next to her. "I thought you'd like it. But that's not all of the surprise." She looked at him curiously, but he just nodded his head to the side.

When she looked, she saw a low table laid out with a platter, two goblets, and a green glass bottle. The platter was filled with rings of… "Apples? But I thought they didn't have any."

"The chef had a few stored away," he explained. "I was able to pry some away from him."

She immediately went over and bit into the sweet meat of a red-skinned slice. It had been more than a year since she'd tasted her favorite fruit. A few drops of juice missed her mouth.

"Easy," Ash said with a laugh. "We've got the whole night for those. And…" He picked up the bottle and tore off the cap.

"Is that wine?"

"No. Brock says I'm too young for wine." Each glass got a good pour. "It's actually a berry blend I concocted." He handed her one of the glasses. "To us," he said as he held up his own glass.

She laughed and clinked her glass to his. After giving it a quick sniff, she took a sip. It was sweet, a mix of apple and pecha juice, but as she swallowed, it left a slightly bitter sting on her throat. "Wow. That's delicious."

"You think so? Because I made it for you."

Words escaped her as the two locked eyes with each other. The red sun shone off his eyes, making them sparkle.

He set his glass down and took her paw in his. "Listen, Teia. Just because I don't want to… make love to you doesn't mean that I don't love you. If there was a way, I would grab it at my first chance." He stepped close, bringing their faces mere inches apart. "A part of my heart will always be yours." He leaned in and licked her across the cheek.

Teia was blushing under her fur. She weakly put her goblet down on the table and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back, pulling her close so their fur melded together.

"I love you, Teia."

"I love you, Ash. Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Now…" He picked up his goblet and the tray of apple slices. "Let's go out and enjoy this sunset. Together."

She smiled and walked out through a sliding glass door to the balcony where a single lounge chair had been set up. They sat together, watching the sun dip below the horizon munching on crisp apples and sipping their drink. At one point, she let a little apple slip to the side of her mouth. Ash lovingly licked it and the two shared a deep embrace.

As the sun finished setting, sending the world into twilight, the two half-lovers drifted off into slumber, warmed by each other's embrace.

----------

Teia was sleeping softly when she felt her body shaken. "Pikachu. It's time to get up."

Her eyes opened slowly. Ash, back to being a human, was standing over her. "Good morning."

She sat up, rubbing her eye. "Wow," she said to herself. "Was that a dream?"

Ash gave her head a pat and leaned in. "It was for me," he whispered into her ear.

A moment of surprise, and then she giggled lightly.

"I'm going to shower before breakfast." Ash stepped out with his stuff, leaving her alone in the room.

She snuggled back into the blankets, smiling. They may not be full lovers, but this was enough. For now.

----------

"The intent was to show that this bond exists, not to show that intimate relations are acceptable. Look at some of the relationships we have today: father and son, mother and daughter, brother and sister. These are all strong bonds that are not even remotely sexual. And yet, the bond _is_ there. That is the bond that we need to acknowledge and strengthen."

**A/N: **Wow. LONG! I apologize if it felt preachy at the end, but that's how I felt led to write the story. But I hope you all enjoyed it.

Thank you very much for reading. Don't forget to leave your review on the way out.


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